2.4–Charles Bukowski, “Bluebird”

Link to Full Text

https://allpoetry.com/poem/8509539-Bluebird-by-Charles-Bukowski

Poem Overview

“Bluebird” is a poignant poem by Charles Bukowski that delves into the theme of vulnerability concealed beneath a hardened exterior. In the poem, Bukowski writes of a metaphorical bluebird trapped inside him, representing a softer, more sensitive side of his personality that he keeps hidden from the world. Despite his rough, outward persona, this bluebird seems connected with the speaker’s inner fragility and longing for expression.

Bukowski, a key figure in American literature known for his raw and often gritty portrayals of life, wrote “Bluebird” in 1992, towards the end of his career. The poem reflects his characteristic style of blending personal experience with stark, unvarnished language. Bukowski’s work frequently explores themes of struggle, loneliness, and the human condition, and “Bluebird” is a notable example of his ability to reveal profound emotional truths beneath a seemingly tough exterior.

Author Bio

Charles Bukowski (1920-1994) occupies a unique and controversial place in poetic tradition. Known for his raw, unfiltered style, he is often associated with the Beat Generation and the confessional poets, though he was not formally a part of either movement. Bukowski’s poetry is characterized by its gritty realism, focusing on the underbelly of urban life, the struggles of the working class, and personal experiences with alcohol and difficult personal relationships. Bukowski’s language contrasts sharply with the strict formal and rhythmic traditions that preceded him:  his words are straightforward, colloquial (in fact, sometimes even abrasive), and he often prefers the well-chosen anecdote to poetic devices such as similes and metaphors.  Poetry Foundation, in their description of Bukowski’s poetry and influences, writes usefully of his hard-living and the purposefully unpolished poetry it produced:

Charles Bukowski was a prolific underground writer who used his poetry and prose to depict the depravity of urban life and the downtrodden in American society. A cult hero, Bukowski relied on experience, emotion, and imagination in his work, using direct language and violent and sexual imagery. While some critics found his style offensive, others claimed that Bukowski satirized the machismo attitude through his routine use of sex, alcohol abuse, and violence. “Without trying to make himself look good, much less heroic, Bukowski writes with a nothing-to-lose truthfulness which sets him apart from most other ‘autobiographical’ novelists and poets,” commented Stephen Kessler in the San Francisco Review of Books, adding: “Firmly in the American tradition of the maverick, Bukowski writes with no apologies from the frayed edge of society.” 

Major Themes

In brief, “Bluebird” is a poignant exploration of vulnerability, repression, and the tension between one’s public persona and private self. Major themes in the poem include:

1. Vulnerability and Sensitivity: Arguably, the bluebird in the poem symbolizes Bukowski’s inner sensitivity and vulnerability, qualities that he struggles to express openly. While that bird represents a part of him that is gentle and delicate (contrasting with the narrator’s tough exterior), the bluebird seems dominated, in terms of the poem’s content and the number of poetic lines allotted, with that tough exterior.
2. Repression and Conformity: Bukowski describes how he hides this sensitive side to conform to societal expectations and to maintain a hardened facade. The poem highlights the conflict between his inner feelings and the persona he presents to the world.
3. Isolation and Authenticity: The poem conveys a sense of isolation stemming from the disconnect between Bukowski’s true self and the persona he projects. It reflects a longing for authenticity in a world that demands a more superficial existence. If pursuing this approach to the poem, (at least) one big question follows: bluebirds mate for life–so what use might Bukowski have found in centering the poem on a (single) bluebird?
4. Masculinity and Emotional Struggle: Bukowski illustrates the struggle to reconcile his emotional needs with the pressures of maintaining a hardened image. In contemporary gender theory, such struggles are investigated as one presentation of masculinity. In this approach to Bukowski’s work, the bluebird can be associated with suppressed aspect of the speaker’s identity, one that he must keep hidden to survive in a harsh environment. For more on this approach, see: (1) David Charlson, Charles Bukowski: Autobiographer, Gender Critic, Iconoclast; (2) Paul Clements, Charles Bukowski, Outsider Literature, and the Beat Movement; (3) Glen Easterly, Buk: The Pock-Marked Poetry of Charles Bukowski
5. Poetic form and the lack of similes/metaphors: While this would take a good deal of extra research, it would be productive to think of why/what results from Bukowski’s style in which he rejects traditional poetic devices of similes and metaphors. Ezra Pound, in 1912, wrote his famous treatise called “A Few Don’ts,” in which he proposed a new poetic approach called Imagism.” Pound’s argument was that a poem should present “a direct treatment of the thing,” should “go in fear of abstraction,” and should have “no slither.” In other words, poetry should not preach, explain, philosophize, etc. Rather, the poem should (and in fact only can) simply show its audience the powerful image, the one thing of which we can be certain. From there, all is in the hands of the audience. (Note for thinking about this school–it originated in Europe not far from the beginning of WWI–a tumultuous time–and one in which lots of prior certainties, especially those about how literature “made meaning” for its readers, were being challenged).

Additional Resources

Good overview of Bukowski: “Charles Bukowski.” Poetry Foundation. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/charles-bukowski.

Useful chapter, places Bukowski in the history of the Beat Generation: Encyclopedia of the Beat Generation. https://search-ebscohost-com.marshall.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e000xna&AN=473797&site=ehost-live&ebv=EB&ppid=pp_38 (the work has an excellent chapter on Bukowski).

Photo shoot, plus recollections of interviewing Bukowski: Joan Gannij, “Me and Mr. B.” https://www.joangannij.com/charles-bukowski/

Dissertation on Bukowski (from u of Kent). We have access to this via  MU Libraries: Brandl, Christine (2018) The Poetry of Charles Bukowski: Narrative, Subjectivity and the Everyday.
Master of Arts by Research (MARes) thesis, University of Kent,.